The present invention relates to a new and improved door actuator system for a vehicle and more specifically to an emergency door activating system for use on an aerospace vehicle including a fluid actuator which in the preferred embodiment is a fluid cylinder and piston operatively connected to the door and the vehicle for moving the door between an open and a closed position and wherein a supply of gas generating chemicals is provided which when actuated rapidly generates a supply of gas which is directed to said fluid cylinder and piston to effect rapid movement of the door of the vehicle between a closed position and a open position.
Emergency door activating systems are known including those for rapidly opening the door of an aerospace vehicle in an emergency situation.
One known emergency door activating system manufactured by Ratier-Figac of France utilizes a fluid damper and piston and cylinder assembly which is operatively connected between the body of the aircraft and the door. A reservoir of pressurized nitrogen is connected to the fluid cylinder. When it is desired to open the door in an emergency situation, the pressurized nitrogen is released from the reservoir and directed to the fluid cylinder to rapidly move the piston and effect opening of the door.
The prior art system suffers from the disadvantage that the reservoir of high pressure nitrogen must be maintained at all times on the aircraft. The weight associated with the reservoir of high pressure gas is substantial due to the construction of the reservoir, which is designed to hold approximately 150 cm3 of gas at approx 123 bar, and the weight of the monitoring equipment required to monitor the gas pressure in the reservoir. Aging of seals and leakage of nitrogen from the reservoir over time causes the prior art systems to require periodic maintenance to ensure that high pressure nitrogen is always present in the reservoir for use in an emergency situation to open the door. Monitoring of the gas pressure in the reservoir requires instrumentation which adds cost and weight and requires labor cost. Replacement of gas in the reservoir requires additional labor costs. If the nitrogen pressure becomes low as a result of leakage, the aircraft on which the nitrogen reservoir is located cannot be flown until the pressure is reestablished in the emergency door actuation system. Thus, loss of pressure in the emergency door actuation system is considered a “no go” item for commercial aircraft. It is extremely costly to ground an aircraft for maintenance and thus it is desirable to provide a low maintenance, low weight emergency door actuation system for use on an aerospace vehicle and other vehicles.